So, doing your alms in secret does not apply?
You don your cute little yellow vests, plaster LDS relief on everything, and hand it out at a disaster. Fine, great, but your bishops turn individuals away?
mtoly, I am of the opinion that the work to help people is a good thing. Nothing to put down there.
There is plenty of charity that should be and is done in seceret. However, if I tell you about it, it isnāt seceret.
okā¦so you refuse to do it in secretā¦you need folks who are not LDS to knowā¦
Funny, Iām actually in that video (not one of the main people speaking), and one of my friends has a speaking part too. It really was a great experience. There were many different humanitarian organizations there, and we all worked together. Everyone was appreciative of the work we did, and asked us to keep coming, as all they wanted was help. I went twice, and a few of my friends went multiple times. It was great to be around so many young people that gave up their weekends, and even some weekdays, to go and volunteer all day (and it wasnāt easy work!). The Young Single Adult congregations in Manhattan (4 of them) cancelled our regular Sacrament Meetings, and we had a joint abbreviated Sacrament Meeting then went down there (the family congregations went on Saturdays, we (YSAs) went on Sundays). We met people from other congregations around the country (mostly from the East Coast though) that came to help (a friend of mine randomly ran into people from her ward back in Boston). When it got closer to Christmas time and the weather got worse/colder, organized MHM efforts were stopped, even though many people still wanted to go (they were encouraged to join with other efforts). We were also encouraged to donate what we could to various charitable organizations to help out.Yes, some people will see it that way. However, when thousands of Latter-day Saints showed up to help the people of of New York after Hurricane Sandy in their bright yellow āMormon Helping Handsā vests no one seemed to complain. LDS bishop storehouses were open for all with no strings attatched. The yellow jackets identify a group that is organized and ready to help when and where disasters strike. After all wouldnāt you want be able to identify a strange western cult that was invading your nieghborhood?
For anyone interested in more information you can watch an 8 minute video, google: āMormon Helping Hands Videoā
Yes, there are priorities. We canāt do everything. The Bishopās first responsibilty is to help faithful members of his ward who have needs. Widow and children are usually will be helped first. We also volunteer in community projects to help the homeless.
As you know the LDS bishop is an unpaid servant with his own profession. He knows the members and needs of the ward members. There are professionals that the bishop can access or refer members for counseling.
It is true that as a church or as an individual we each need decide for ourselves who and how we serve others in need. No need really to worry that someone else is not doing it right. As you quoted above, the Lord will be the judge.Porknpie said, "work there are other places they can get a hand out.
Show me an example in the bible where Christ said feed the poor, clothe the naked ā¦ and that there were strings attached to his words. "
You are picking and choosing who to help, that is being judgmental, condescending and hypocritical to those being turned away.
While in Florida, in 2004, I went through Hurricanes Frances, Ivan, and Jean. We survived them all, with minimal damage. But according to you, I could have walked up to one of these people and gotten whatever they were offering.
On the other hand, if I go to the local lds food pantry (or whatever it is called), I would be turned away because ". If people can work and are not willing to work there are other places they can get a hand out.", I evidently need to **prove **Iām either disabled,or unemployed.
Unless of course, the bishop uses his magic power and determines one or the other, then I wouldnāt need to **prove **my need for assistance.
That is the hypocrisy in it. Pure and simple.
Iāll let you in on a little secret. The little yellow vests, are just to get air time when the media shows up.
I guess you should have read further in Matthew. Try Matt 25:31-46.
New International Version (NIV)
The Sheep and the Goats
31 āWhen the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 āThen the King will say to those on his right, āCome, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.ā
37 āThen the righteous will answer him, āLord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?ā
40 āThe King will reply, āTruly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.ā
41 āThen he will say to those on his left, āDepart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.ā
44 āThey also will answer, āLord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?ā
45 āHe will reply, āTruly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.ā
46 āThen they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.ā
Talk about, There are none so blind as those who will not see.
:thumbsup:Very interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience.Funny, Iām actually in that video (not one of the main people speaking), and one of my friends has a speaking part too. It really was a great experience. There were many different humanitarian organizations there, and we all worked together. Everyone was appreciative of the work we did, and asked us to keep coming, as all they wanted was help. I went twice, and a few of my friends went multiple times. It was great to be around so many young people that gave up their weekends, and even some weekdays, to go and volunteer all day (and it wasnāt easy work!). The Young Single Adult congregations in Manhattan (4 of them) cancelled our regular Sacrament Meetings, and we had a joint abbreviated Sacrament Meeting then went down there (the family congregations went on Saturdays, we (YSAs) went on Sundays). We met people from other congregations around the country (mostly from the East Coast though) that came to help (a friend of mine randomly ran into people from her ward back in Boston). When it got closer to Christmas time and the weather got worse/colder, organized MHM efforts were stopped, even though many people still wanted to go (they were encouraged to join with other efforts). We were also encouraged to donate what we could to various charitable organizations to help out.
I think itās safe to say that everyone that participated did it because they wanted to help others. Especially those that went multiple times to do hard, manual labor. It wouldāve been much easier to sleep in and do nothing (and I knew a few people that did just that). In addition, there are of course the personal benefits and feelings that come from doing such things. As far as the yellow Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts and aprons (or whatever you call those things), I donāt think itās that big of a deal. It obviously helps with identification, for both those being assisted, as well as amongst the volunteers (especially when weāre spread out in large areas, like in the Rockaways for Sandy relief). I also think that many like to feel like being āpart of somethingā, and having the t-shirt plays to those feelings (which also reminds me of how everyone loved to get a t-shirt for their dorm, for their school, organization, etc back in college). I also did a google image search for ācatholic charities reliefā, and found a few interesting images:
catholiccharitiesraleigh.org/disaster-response
catholiccharities-cc.org/index.cfm?load=photoalbum&album=6
ccdoy.org/locations/catholic-charities-of-ashtabula-county/diocese-of-youngstown-accepts-donations-for-families-impacted-by-severe-tornadoes/
archindy.org/criterion/files/2012/03-16/tornadoes-large.jpg
Etc
So, I see nothing wrong with wearing identifying clothing when providing relief services. And I donāt think Mormons are unique in wearing such clothing, nor are Mormons unique in providing service to those in need, including after disasters. Iām glad that we can all help our fellow man, no matter what faith (or non-faith).
Anyway, just wanted to share my experience with that āMormon Helping Handsā project.
I thought of the same CRS shirts.Funny, Iām actually in that video (not one of the main people speaking), and one of my friends has a speaking part too. It really was a great experience. There were many different humanitarian organizations there, and we all worked together. Everyone was appreciative of the work we did, and asked us to keep coming, as all they wanted was help. I went twice, and a few of my friends went multiple times. It was great to be around so many young people that gave up their weekends, and even some weekdays, to go and volunteer all day (and it wasnāt easy work!). The Young Single Adult congregations in Manhattan (4 of them) cancelled our regular Sacrament Meetings, and we had a joint abbreviated Sacrament Meeting then went down there (the family congregations went on Saturdays, we (YSAs) went on Sundays). We met people from other congregations around the country (mostly from the East Coast though) that came to help (a friend of mine randomly ran into people from her ward back in Boston). When it got closer to Christmas time and the weather got worse/colder, organized MHM efforts were stopped, even though many people still wanted to go (they were encouraged to join with other efforts). We were also encouraged to donate what we could to various charitable organizations to help out.
I think itās safe to say that everyone that participated did it because they wanted to help others. Especially those that went multiple times to do hard, manual labor. It wouldāve been much easier to sleep in and do nothing (and I knew a few people that did just that). In addition, there are of course the personal benefits and feelings that come from doing such things. As far as the yellow Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts and aprons (or whatever you call those things), I donāt think itās that big of a deal. It obviously helps with identification, for both those being assisted, as well as amongst the volunteers (especially when weāre spread out in large areas, like in the Rockaways for Sandy relief). I also think that many like to feel like being āpart of somethingā, and having the t-shirt plays to those feelings (which also reminds me of how everyone loved to get a t-shirt for their dorm, for their school, organization, etc back in college). I also did a google image search for ācatholic charities reliefā, and found a few interesting images:
catholiccharitiesraleigh.org/disaster-response
catholiccharities-cc.org/index.cfm?load=photoalbum&album=6
ccdoy.org/locations/catholic-charities-of-ashtabula-county/diocese-of-youngstown-accepts-donations-for-families-impacted-by-severe-tornadoes/
archindy.org/criterion/files/2012/03-16/tornadoes-large.jpg
Etc
So, I see nothing wrong with wearing identifying clothing when providing relief services. And I donāt think Mormons are unique in wearing such clothing, nor are Mormons unique in providing service to those in need, including after disasters. Iām glad that we can all help our fellow man, no matter what faith (or non-faith).
Anyway, just wanted to share my experience with that āMormon Helping Handsā project.
Intention is the main thing, I think, and I donāt pretend to know what the intention of any other person might be. Iād like to give the benefit of the doubt, but my experience with LDS is, yāall like to toot your own horn! 
My own analysis of this, ironically, is the LDS Church is trying to get over the public view, held by a lot of people, that it is a cult.
My work tries to get us to do the same. I have a closet full of jackets, shirts, hats, etc. with the work logo on them. I rarely wear them and have been thinking on spring cleaning and sending it all to the road home.Complete non answers, as expected.
And only he saw.
He never looked at the plates. he kept his head in his hat looking at stones
I see a lot of hypocrisy. I just donāt see it the same place you do.Complete non answers, as expected.
I am still amazed that you donāt see the hypocrisy. Just amazed.
OT here LW, is Dave Buckner your stake president?Funny, Iām actually in that video (not one of the main people speaking), and one of my friends has a speaking part too. It really was a great experience. There were many different humanitarian organizations there, and we all worked together. Everyone was appreciative of the work we did, and asked us to keep coming, as all they wanted was help. I went twice, and a few of my friends went multiple times. It was great to be around so many young people that gave up their weekends, and even some weekdays, to go and volunteer all day (and it wasnāt easy work!). The Young Single Adult congregations in Manhattan (4 of them) cancelled our regular Sacrament Meetings, and we had a joint abbreviated Sacrament Meeting then went down there (the family congregations went on Saturdays, we (YSAs) went on Sundays). We met people from other congregations around the country (mostly from the East Coast though) that came to help (a friend of mine randomly ran into people from her ward back in Boston). When it got closer to Christmas time and the weather got worse/colder, organized MHM efforts were stopped, even though many people still wanted to go (they were encouraged to join with other efforts). We were also encouraged to donate what we could to various charitable organizations to help out.
I think itās safe to say that everyone that participated did it because they wanted to help others. Especially those that went multiple times to do hard, manual labor. It wouldāve been much easier to sleep in and do nothing (and I knew a few people that did just that). In addition, there are of course the personal benefits and feelings that come from doing such things. As far as the yellow Mormon Helping Hands t-shirts and aprons (or whatever you call those things), I donāt think itās that big of a deal. It obviously helps with identification, for both those being assisted, as well as amongst the volunteers (especially when weāre spread out in large areas, like in the Rockaways for Sandy relief). I also think that many like to feel like being āpart of somethingā, and having the t-shirt plays to those feelings (which also reminds me of how everyone loved to get a t-shirt for their dorm, for their school, organization, etc back in college). I also did a google image search for ācatholic charities reliefā, and found a few interesting images:
catholiccharitiesraleigh.org/disaster-response
catholiccharities-cc.org/index.cfm?load=photoalbum&album=6
ccdoy.org/locations/catholic-charities-of-ashtabula-county/diocese-of-youngstown-accepts-donations-for-families-impacted-by-severe-tornadoes/
archindy.org/criterion/files/2012/03-16/tornadoes-large.jpg
Etc
So, I see nothing wrong with wearing identifying clothing when providing relief services. And I donāt think Mormons are unique in wearing such clothing, nor are Mormons unique in providing service to those in need, including after disasters. Iām glad that we can all help our fellow man, no matter what faith (or non-faith).
Anyway, just wanted to share my experience with that āMormon Helping Handsā project.
Of course.
Yes he is (at least since I moved here last year).
